Practitioners from Las Naves, Kveloce I+D+i, Fent Estudi, ETRA I+D, WITRAC and the Institute for Telecommunications and Multimedia Applications (iTEAM) from the Polytechnic University of Valencia will mentor the winners.
The winning idea in the ‘MAtchUP Special UPV Challenge Award’ category during last November’s seventh edition of the ‘UPV Challenge Ideas’ competition was a safe, closed-module-based parking service for personal mobility devices where you can stow them and charge their battery.
This entrepreneurial initiative by VeLOCK offers different app-based services. Specifically, VeLOCK co-founder Jorge Sesma states that, apart from these services, they also provide “information on the location and availability of these parking spaces, as well the battery level and other vehicle status notifications”. Sesma clarifies that the idea is currently in an initial stage and that they expect the prototype to be ready for the summer.
In this line, VeLOCK has designed a short survey on mobility habits to improve the design and to fine-tune the prototype depending on the needs of potential users. Here is the form to participate.
VeLOCK members have been awarded with a mentoring plan starting in March imparted by K-Veloce I+D+i.
As K-Veloce’s R&D Project Manager Barbara Branchini explains, “this award is framed within MAtchUp actions targeting the promotion of social and local entrepreneurship, as well as within its citizen participation strategy, the aim of which is to bring this project closer to citizens and to foster participation through its different actions”.
Thanks to this idea, VeLOCK constituents will be mentored in 8 to 10 2-hour long sessions. Throughout these sessions, they will expand their knowledge on sustainable mobility, innovative public procurement, European projects, funding-seeking and conflict resolution, among others.
Branchini specified that this mentoring opportunity “is intended to bring students in contact with different business and innovation realities that are part of current MAtchUP actions, all of them aiming at consolidating a smart environment in Valencia”.
The goal of this mentoring process is to foster the participation in the design of smart and innovative products focusing on the needs of users, “as well as putting the accent on inclusive initiatives with a high potential for replicability and scalability”.
On the other hand, the winners will participate in different targeted guided visits to Valencian companies and institutions which are part of the MAtchUP consortium. They will also visit Las Naves, where they will familiarize themselves with Col·lab, the public accelerator aiming at fostering social and urban entrepreneurship.
Las Naves, K-Veloce I+D+i and Fent Estudi are members of the panel of mentoring entities that provide their experience and knowledge in the field of urban innovation, R&D&i management, private and public initiatives to promote innovation, citizen’s participation and collaborative work. Other members of this panel are ETRA I+D and WITRAC, which are companies working in the field of sustainable mobility, communication, traceability and wireless positioning, as well as the Institute for Telecommunications and Multimedia Applications (iTEAM) from the Polytechnic University of València, which have collaborated in the development of the mentoring plan, adapted to the knowledge and needs of students, and which also put their space and available equipment in the Telefónica IoT Classroom, at the disposal of the winning team.
